The Co Down teenager's family and friends have led the campaign for a change in the law.

At the Assembly today, MLAs from across the political divide backed a DUP motion for the drugs to be banned.

A temporary banning order has been imposed on 350 substances to date.

The DUP's Alex Easton said: "There is no silver bullet to tackle the scourge of these substances but we cannot sit back whilst people in our society have their lives put at risk by these dangerous substances and those who peddle them.

"The Assembly can today speak loudly on this issue and I would hope that the new government at Westminster will listen and finally take action which will help save lives."

His party colleague, Health Minister Simon Hamilton, told the Assembly he was fully behind the banning of the drugs.

He said: "These are substances that have a psychoactive effect but which are not classified under the UK-wide Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

"However, the term legal highs is misleading.

"We should, therefore, try as best as we possibly can to refer to them as new psychoactive substances (NPS).

"The key message that needs to come from the chamber today is that these substances are not safe. They are marked 'not for human consumption' for a reason, as the sellers are trying to get round our existing drug laws and regulations.

"Let us be absolutely clear, Mr Deputy Speaker: taking any substance that has not been prescribed for you comes with real risks.

"These new psychoactive substances have not been tested, they do not go through quality assurance, there is no way of knowing what they actually contain, and, therefore, they are potentially more dangerous than drugs such as ecstasy or cannabis.

She said: "Ireland has the highest use of so-called legal highs in Europe. Many of these substances are toxic, unfortunately they can kill, and have tragically taken the lives of too many so far.

“It is clear that action is needed urgently to remove these toxic substances from sale to protect young people and new legislation needs to be brought in to block the sale of these products.

“The problem in the North is that once a substance has been identified and removed all that needs to be done is for one ingredient to be changed and it can go back on to the market.

“I believe a similar system to that deployed in the South of Ireland where the producer must obtain a license before the product is passed to be sold on the open market would help address the problem associated with these products.

“While the legislation is ultimately a reserved matter it is important the Minister for Justice David Ford presses the British government to bring forward legislation as soon as possible."

Senior officers within Organised Crime are being trained to deal with NPSs and are working with forces across the UK to establish strategies to take on legal highs in the event of a change in the law. All available intelligence is also being studied to establish what shape future operations will take when the substances are banned in the same way as cannabis or cocaine.